I have numerous brands mounted on numerous rifles, Leupold, Zeiss, Nikon, Vortex and even a Bushnell but I like the Vortex Viper line the best for value versus ease of operation and clarity. They aren't Nightforce or S&B, but they do a good job for the money spent.

Candidly, the all appear about the same to me when I look through them, even the Bushnell (Japanese LOE) is good.

Good points and bad points... Thne Leupolds operate smoothly but are getting pricey. Ziess also works smoothly but the offerings are limited. Nikon's have a bulky magnification adjustment (I have a Nikon on my ML because it's in realtree and matches my CVA). Vortex work slick but they are heavy scopes and the lone Bushnell is on my 44 Magnum. It's a Japanese Bushnell Deerrslayer that I don't believe is sold anymore. Nice scope, unlimited eye relief and fixed parallelax but it's a handgun scope and it's only a 1-4.

Vortex Viper PST 6-24SFP on a Tikka M65 in a GRS stock 6,5x55swe - only used for rangeshooting

S&B PMII cause they are nice - I would not take a shot longer than 800 meters on any living thing so 16x is plenty.
Swarovski cause they are nice - The ballistic turret concept I feel is a bit limited when comparing to PMII, also missing windage.
Vortex since price performance is much nicer then the other above

I have a NF 5.5-22x56, and it is a great tool at long range. I have two swaro Z5's, and they are great (and relatively light) glass. I tend to agree with Tiggre - the BT loses functionality past about 500yds.

Vortex Viper - best bang for your buck. For $50 more, you can add the HS/LR line, than gives you .50 moa clicks vs .25 for 24 moa per rotation, and exposed Zero Stop turrets. The adjustments are very repeatable and have a solid feel to them. Glass is good not great, but spend your money on clearer glass for you bino's/spotter. A little heavy, but solid construction in 30mm. As a LR scope, the Dead Hold BDC reticle is my favorite and a huge plus in this price range with it's 2moa hash marks on horizontal reticle. The BDC drop lines are for a standard LR type round ~(.500bc @ 3000fps) and good back up to 600 yds, but for true LR shooting you will want to dial anyway, so I don't really use it for my STW. I think this is the best value hands down for a "hunting" LR scope, unless you are trying to shoot a mile.

Zeiss Conquest - Best glass for your buck. For a BDC reticle, their Z600-Z800 line is great with wind hold-off's, which is the same as the Velocity line from NF. A little more expensive than Vortex and no windage marks on reticle when "dialing".

I don't use Nightforce scopes, but someday will, but for now I think for hunting applications to 1000 yds, the NF line will do all you want.

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My family and I welcome you. I started LRH back in 2001 to provide a friendly place where like-minded individuals could share information and ideas to help take their long range shooting and hunting to the next level.